Two Weeks or Tokyo!
by WaterDrinker247
Summary: Shoya Ishida has been given an ultimatum by the impatient little sister of the one he holds most dear to him. He must confess next time he sees Shoko, or else Yuzuru will confess for him. So, to spare himself the embarrassment, he has to think of some way to do so himself.
1. Blackmail

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Author's Note (1/6/20): I am going through the fanfiction and correcting typos. On top of this, I am changing the preface to eliminate the connection it had with my other fanfiction, since I want them to be two separate fics. As of today, I've finished Chapter 5. I will begin making Chapter 6 in not too long, so please expect that sometime soon!

* * *

Shoya Ishida was lonely.

He couldn't help it. For the past several years, he had no friends and scarcely a purpose in life. As of recently, he gained a small friend group, but he watched most of them disappear to pursue their post-graduation dreams. What was most crushing to him was the departure of Shoko Nishimiya to Tokyo.

Much like he felt for everyone else, at one point, Shoya Ishida hated Shoko Nishimiya. The reason was very simple: she couldn't hear, and it caused problems for everyone. Of course, it wasn't her fault, but an elementary school Shoya had no concept of this; he viewed her as some alien with which he wanted to experiment on, so he tormented her. He destroyed several of Shoko's hearing aids, and eventually, the adults cracked down on this. Shoya lost all of his friends and his mother had to pay a hefty 1,700,000¥ to Shoko's mother for the hearing aids. He became isolated from the world, perhaps as much as Shoko was isolated from her classmates.

Shoya foresaw a boring life ahead of him, one spent all alone and miserable. He decided that he was better off tying up loose ends and ending it himself, before the boredom could set in. He quit his job, sold his furniture, and paid his mother the aforementioned 1,700,000¥. He had but one last goal before he was content with ending his own life. He had to face Shoko Nishimiya.

* * *

After the initial barrier between them was broken, the two found themselves to be mostly inseparable. Shoko even confessed her love to Shoya, but Shoya could not understand her due to a mispronunciation of the word "love." It was obvious to everyone, though. They texted frequently and went out frequently.

One night, during a fireworks festival, where everything seemed to be going lovely, Shoko attempted to commit suicide. Thankfully, however, Shoya was able to save her life, pulling her up onto the balcony, which he subsequently fell off of. He spent two weeks in a coma, but upon waking up, he knew that he would do it again, if it meant saving Shoko.

They met up at the bridge the night that Shoya woke up; they seemed to have had the same dream. They were back in their elementary school, as children, talking normally. Each of the two proclaimed their guilt for the terrible set of circumstances which befell the other. Shoya proclaimed his desire for Shoko to "help (him) live." Though he didn't outwardly say it, he felt certain that she already was his life. If she had died that night of the fireworks festival, he knew his life would be over. Whether he would have actively committed suicide or simply stopped trying to live, his life was over. In that sense, Shoko was already helping him live.

* * *

For this very reason, Shoya was absolutely crushed when they began to talk about their futures. They both desired to become hairdressers, and Shoya was content in attending a local college, but Shoko was planning to go all the way to Tokyo to learn. This was a heavy blow to Shoya, but he powered through it.

With Shoko gone, and really most of the rest of his friends gone, Shoya often found himself either hanging out with Yuzuru, Shoko's little sister, or texting Shoko. Sometimes he even did both.

* * *

One day, as Shoya was looking wistfully out of his bedroom window, obviously deep in thought. He was thinking about Shoko, and how he wishes that he went to Tokyo with her. Yuzuru caught this, and spoke up, as if she were reading his mind. "So, when are you planning on telling her?" she asked. It didn't take Shoya any time to realize what she meant and subsequently blush at her question. He knew that she was asking when he would ask Shoko to be his girlfriend, but he played dumb nonetheless.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" Shoya said as he faced away from Yuzuru, in shame.

"Oh, come on! You really think that I, of all people, am going to fall for it? You're so wrong, dude." she teased. Shoya just stayed silent. "Look, if you aren't going to tell her, I will." Yuzuru said commandingly. At this, Shoya's expression turned from embarrassment into horror.

"Wh-what? T-tell her wh-what?" Shoya said, trembling in fear. "C-could you b-be more specific? I mean there are plenty of things I'd like to tell her! We are talking about Shoko, right?" Shoya said, steeling his nerves and playing more dumb than ever.

Yuzuru didn't say anything. She simply took out her camera, took a photo of Shoya, and began typing away furiously on her phone. Shoya bolted up and tried to get hold of the phone, but Yuzuru was too fast. "W-wait!" Shoya said as Yuzuru threateningly held a finger to the "Send" button. "P-please don't send whatever you were going to send…" Shoya begged.

"Are you going to keep playing dumb with me?" She asked. "You know, I've gotten to know you better than I know almost anyone else. So don't think you can just fool me."

Shoya gave up the act and hung his head in shame. "I know. I never really felt like I was _fooling_ anyone, all I was doing was making a _fool_ out of myself." he said dejectedly. "Even Tomohiro could tell, but I just persisted with this petty lie. Okay, I admit it."

Yuzuru smirked. "You admit what?" she asked. Now she was the one who was playing dumb. "You should be more specific, there are plenty of things you could admit!" she said, imitating what he said before.

"Okay, okay!" Shoya said defeatedly. "I am madly in love with Shoko! There, are you happy?" he said as he looked up at the victorious little girl.

"Hmm… I may be happy, but I think I know who would be happier…" she said devilishly. She pointed to her camera, which had been recording Shoya's confession. "Just like the ferris wheel, I'm gathering my evidence." she snickered.

Much to Yuzuru's surprise, Shoya wasn't upset. "Please, I know that you may want to, but please, don't show that to anyone. I really need to do this myself."

Yuzuru just smiled. "Oh, I won't show it to anyone… on one condition." she said, and Shoya looked up at her. "When you two have a kid, if it's a daughter, name her after me! Oh, and you have to tell her next time you see her in person. We're all tired of waiting."

"Th-that's two conditions!" Shoya said frustratedly. "A-and I don't know if we'll have kids, I mean I don't even know how _she_ feels about _me_…" he said sadly as he rubbed his neck. He hoped she shared the same feelings for him that he had for her, but he was gnawed at by the uncertainty of it all, especially now that she was so far away.

Yuzuru just laughed and started to walk out. "You big dummy. Just go work on your confession skills, okay?" she said triumphantly as she began to walk home. Shoya was left dazed and confused. He decided to do what he enjoyed doing best when he was feeling confused, or lucid, or sad, or happy, or bored, or having fun, or- really any time. He was going to text Shoko.

* * *

"_Damn, I'm hopeless…_" he thought to himself as he opened up his messages. He began to text her about his day, skimming over the part with Yuzuru. Shoko usually was quick to reply, but now that she was in Tokyo and studying, she could only reply when she was free from work or studies, and Shoya never knew quite when that was. He typed,

_Hey Shoko! How are you? Sorry, my day has been relatively uneventful, but I still just like to catch up with you, you know? :) Anyways, I know you're probably busy right now, so text whenever you can! _

He hit send and fell asleep while waiting for a reply.

* * *

A few hours later, Shoya woke up to a text notification. "_Yes! She finally texted me back!_" Shoya thought to himself in delight as he opened up her message. Her message read,

_Hello, I am sorry it took so long for me to respond! You're right, I was very busy, but I'm free now! And you say your day was uneventful? That's not what Yuzu told me! :)_

Shoya stared at his screen. "_Shit, shit, shit, she knows. Does she? Did you lie to me, Yuzuru? Did you tell your sister?_" he thought as he texted back in a panic.

_Oh, yeah! Well, Yuzuru and I mostly just took some photos, other than that and a little bit of chatting, the day was uneventful! We didn't even remember to feed the koi, sorry!_

_Really? Yuzu told me that you guys made some sort of bet, but she wouldn't fill me in on the details, LOL! Also, that's a shame, I wish I could have been there so that we could have all gone to feed them! Speaking of which, I'm going to be visiting home in two weeks! _

"Two weeks…" Shoya whispered to himself. "So it's really just under 14 days, since it's nighttime, huh…" He had to mentally prepare himself for his confession. Also, he'd have to scold Yuzuru for trying to give him a heart attack by almost telling Shoko. He continued texting, and they both said their good nights to each other.

* * *

*** 13 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

The next morning, Shoya's mother was acting strange. She was giving him a smirk, one that he had seen several times before. He remembered it from when he brought up how he was going to give the "Meow-Meow Club" cat pouch to Shoko.. "_Damnit, did Yuzuru tell her?_" Shoya thought to himself. He was really getting tired of Yuzuru's lousy secret-keeping ability.

"Now, Shoya," his mother started, grabbing his attention. "Yuzuru didn't tell me anything…"

At this, Shoya was confused. "_Why would she say that unless she knows what we were talking about?_" he thought, a little irritatedly.

She continued. "...but I do have ears, you know? So, when are you going to ask Shoko out?" she asked smugly.

"I-in two weeks… it'll be in person." Shoya said while staring at his breakfast.

"Yes! I knew it, I knew it!" his mother exclaimed. "It's always been so obvious dear, I'm sure she's been waiting for you to ask for so long!"

"Who knows, I don't know how she feels about me…" Shoya said, unsure. His mom almost spat out her coffee from laughter, and she had to go to the sink. "_Why do people keep laughing at me when I say that?_" he thought to himself, very confused.

* * *

The day went by very normally, until Yuzuru came over to ask for homework help. Shoya was pissed at her, but he really wasn't in a position to refuse her. She had expertly blackmailed him already, and she'd probably do it again.

Yuzuru could tell that he was frustrated at her; he was giving halfhearted replies to her attempts at conversation, and he was scowling, facing the other direction. "I'm sorry, Shoya, but it had to be done! Everyone and their grandmothers have been waiting for you and Shoko to start going out! Besides, I didn't tell anyone anything!"

Shoya just sighed. "Yeah, I know. Thank you for your encouragement, I guess. Now let's focus on geometry." he said, changing the subject despite the fact that he was considerably less irritated at Yuzuru than he was before.

The two spent about an hour studying over geometry. To Shoya, it was pretty easy, but he had already taken that course. Yuzuru was new to it, so she struggled. After the study session,it was dark, so he walked Yuzuru home.

* * *

Shoya, of course, texted Shoko as soon as he entered back into his house. This time, she was much quicker to respond.

_Hey, so we definitely need to hang out when you come visit! I've been thinking about it, and I was thinking we could go somewhere like a fair, or a park! Or wherever you want to go!_

_I agree, but hmmm… Probably not a fair, so how about we play Laser Tag? Yuzu suggested that we all play together! Does that sound okay with you? I definitely think it would be fun, I like the visuals and the cool, futuristic suits!_

"_Shit, I don't want to ask her out in front of Yuzuru, she'll be sure to make it difficult for me… but who am I to deny Shoko of laser tag, or to tell her no in general? Ahhh, this is getting difficult and confusing…_" Shoya thought to himself as he scratched his head.

He continued texting Shoko for a little bit longer, but she had to go to sleep.

* * *

Shoya was stuck awake, continually thinking about her. It was late enough in the night where those who are awake tend to be loopy, and he was no exception. He couldn't help but think about her, since he always thought about her as it was. His eyes began to leak a little. "_Damn, I really wanna keep talking to her…_" he thought as he wiped his eyes dry. He started to send one last text, just to help alleviate the crushing feeling he was experiencing.

_Hey, I know you're asleep! I just wanted to say thank you, for like everything! Remember what I said at the bridge?_

He stopped himself from sending the message. "_I should wait. This is what I'll tell her in person._" he thought. He shut his eyes and drifted into the land of dreams.

In his dream, he was standing at the bridge. He was signing to Shoko all the things he wanted to tell her (You're amazing, you don't just help me live, you are my life, etc… ). She was blushing and signing the same back, but she suddenly saw something and became very offended. Instinctively, due to dream logic, Shoya looked up in the sky, where a gargantuan Yuzuru was controlling him with strings. He began to sign, "it isn't her telling me to say this, I wanted to say this!" but she didn't seem to believe it, so she walked away in a hurry.

* * *

*** 12 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya awoke with a start. After that dream, he knew he wouldn't let Yuzuru dictate his confession. This confession had to be from him, not from a blackmailed, persuaded, stressed puppet of himself. This, he knew for certain. However, the remaining question was: how exactly would he confess his love?

He began to ponder. He knew he couldn't ask many people for help; "_Tomohiro isn't exactly a ladies' man... Satoshi doesn't care as much about girls as he does about kids... and Ueno would probably just spoil the surprise or not bother helping me…_" he thought to himself. This left four people whom he genuinely trusted to help. "_So my options are... Mom, Yuzuru, Ms. Nishimiya, and Miyoko…_" he shuddered at the thought of asking help from Ms. Nishimiya to date her daughter. "_Yeah, right, she'd probably kick my ass sooner than she'd help me ask her daughter out…_" he told himself. "_And really, it would be awkward asking for help from Mom or Yuzuru…_"

Shoya sighed and pulled out his phone. It was time to ask Miyoko for a favor.


	2. Part of the Family

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Author's Note (1/6/20): I am going through the fanfiction and correcting typos. On top of this, I am changing the preface to eliminate the connection it had with my other fanfiction, since I want them to be two separate fics. As of today, I've finished Chapter 5. I will begin making Chapter 6 in not too long, so please expect that sometime soon!

* * *

Miyoko Sahara was, for a large portion of her life, a coward. From a young age, she would run from anything that caused her distress. She would often find herself avoiding people who would make fun of her at school by skipping school entirely. That is not to say that she was immune to change, though.

Miyoko became close friends with Naoka Ueno, her former bully. On top of this, she became close friends with Shoko Nishimiya, after having been friends with her back in elementary school until she vanished due to Naoka's cruelty. After she met Nishimiya for the second time, she became closely tied to Shoya and even more closely tied to Naoka.

From these bonds that she made in such a short time, she was able to build up her confidence and consistently face fears. She no longer shied away from precarious situations or arguments. She no longer backed down from Naoka's harsh words, but instead, she defended herself. She established herself as an equal to Naoka, so the two began to be able to work incredibly well together. Together, they designed clothes, and they won fashion-design contests. They too resided in Tokyo for the sake of their careers.

Miyoko, who knew Shoko and Shoya quite well, was no blind fool. She could see very well that the two held feelings for each other, but she never spoke of this out of pity for Naoka, who too was infatuated with Shoya. When she checked her email that morning, she giggled to herself for quite some time before replying.

* * *

_Hey, Miyoko,_

_I know it is kind of out of the blue, but I needed somebody's help, and I thought that you were the best person to come to for it. You see, I need some romance advice. I know it may come to you as a surprise, but… I am planning on confessing my love to Shoko. Out of all of my friends, except for perhaps Yuzuru, you are the closest with her. I was wondering: how do you think that I should approach this? I feel like you, of all people, would know._

_Please help! _

_-Shoya Ishida_

* * *

Miyoko couldn't stifle her laughter. "_So what Yuzuru told me really is true, huh? This oughta be fun…_" she thought as she sat back, thinking about how to respond. She, of course, knew that Shoya was madly in love with Shoko, but she never expected him to build up the courage to do something about it. No matter how brave he was compared to her, he never seemed like he was going to even acknowledge those feelings, much less act upon them. So, when Yuzuru sent a private message, detailing the predicament that she forced Shoya into, she expected that Yuzuru would be the one spilling the beans. She giggled to herself again, thinking about the absurdity of it all. "_It may come to you as a surprise…_"

_Well, it took long enough!_

_Believe me, it is not a surprise to me, nor will it be to anyone else on the face of this Earth! Shoya, you really are overthinking things. Surely you must know that you know Shoko even better than I do. But if you want my honest advice? I'd just tell you to be yourself. I'm sorry if it's not the answer you're looking for, but it's the best answer anyone could give!_

_P.S. don't try to be fancy or anything, you'll make it too obvious (As if it wasn't already)!_

_-Miyoko Sahara_

Miyoko went back to smiling at herself. She planned on giving him different advice if he seemed desperate enough, but she felt like this advice was better than anything else. "_She loves you already, so you just being you is easily the best way to go about it…_" she thought to herself as she got dressed and ready for a long day with Naoka.

* * *

Shoya sighed and shrunk down against his wall. "Damnit… I was worried that she would say something like that…" he said to himself. He sat upright once again and sent an email back to thank her, despite the fact that he felt as though she really had been no help. "_And why does everyone act like it's so damn unsurprising…_" Shoya thought as he rested his head on one of his arms.

Shoya decided to take a different, less appealing approach. He would have to talk to Yuzuru about it_ again_. He tried to rule her out before, but he felt as though he had no other option. To pass the time before Yuzuru got out of school, Shoya tried to ponder up some ideas. He imagined trying to get her attention during laser tag. "_No, it's too dark in those rooms for her to see my signs…_" he thought. He also imagined taking her out to dinner after they played laser tag. "_So, where are __**we **__eating?_" imaginary Yuzuru asked. Shoya shuddered at the thought of trying to confess with Yuzuru so closeby, but at least that wasn't guaranteed if Yuzuru thought he was on a date with Shoko...

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head, one that had not occurred to him before. Yuzuru's condition, or the only one that he wanted to acknowledge (since the other was too embarrassing to acknowledge), held that he must confess next time he sees Shoko in person. Shoko already told him the next time_ she_ was visiting, but what if _she_ wasn't the one visiting the other at all?

* * *

He pondered on the idea for a moment until he heard his phone buzzing. On his screen, there was a photo of Miyoko- she was calling him on FaceTime. Shoya was quick to flip the camera so that his face wasn't showing, but he picked up the call.

"H-hey Miyoko!" Shoya said. "What's up?"

"Shoya," Miyoko whispered into her phone, "say it again."

"S-say what again?" Shoya asked nervously. "'Thank you?'"

Miyoko smiled and shook her head. "No, silly! I just want to hear you admit your love for Shoko out loud! Don't worry, I have earbuds in, and Naoka isn't here right now."

Shoya stared at his screen, unsure whether he should follow her request or not. He bit the bullet and said it. "I love Shoko, okay? I plan on confessing to her real soon."

Miyoko just clapped and giggled. "I've imagined hearing that so many times, but it sounds so much better in real life!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to hear how Shoko reacts!"

Shoya interrupted. "Hey, about that! Do you think it would be a good idea to visit her while she is in Tokyo? I want to confess to her without any sort of barrier, like, say, a little sister."

Miyoko giggled again. "You sure thought of that quickly. I think that would be a great idea, but how are you going to get here? Do you even know where her dorm is?" she asked. Shoya was confident in his ability to answer the first one, but not the second one. He had no clue where her dorm was, or what number it was, but if he were to ask Shoko, it would be obvious that he was on his way to visit.

"Your silence tells me everything that I need to know!" Miyoko said. "I'll gather info for you, pal! On one condition…" she began, and Shoya groaned. "_Not __**another **__condition!_" he thought to himself. "Relax, Shoya. I'm not going to ask you to name your daughter after me or anything…" she said with a giggle, and Shoya suddenly became a mixture of embarrassed at the statement and frustrated with Yuzuru because of her loud mouth. "No, I have something better in mind. You have to hold her hand before you ask her."

Shoya just sat in silence for a second. His ears burned and his cheeks were flushed. "I-is that all? I was sort of planning to do that anyways…" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Miyoko clapped out loud. "Bravo! Oh, how cute, how sweet! Oh, goodness, I can't wait to hear all about your first official date from you two!" she said ecstatically. She calmed down and said in a more serious tone, "Really, I'm astonished by the amount you can change, Shoya. It's like, every day you become a slightly better human than you were before! Alright, I'll stop with this sappy talk and get to work on info-gathering! Oh, and don't worry about it seeming suspicious, I hang out with Shoko a lot anyways! I suggest you play along with whatever I tell Shoko!"

Shoya was left in a stupor. "Thank you so much, Miyoko! I really owe you one!" he said as the call ended. "_She's so kind…_" Shoya thought as he laid on his back, still trying to comprehend what exactly just unfolded.

* * *

A few hours later, Yuzuru came over, as she usually does. Shoya, although not entirely angry at her, wanted to clear things up. "Yuzuru! You little imp!" he said as she entered his room.

Yuzuru stared at him, unabashed. "What did I do this time?" she asked, genuinely unsure, as if there was so much that she had done already.

"Be honest, who all have you told?" Shoya asked quite seriously. It was incredibly obvious to him that she had told Miyoko and probably even his mother. "I'm not mad, not that you would really care if I were." Shoya chuckled to himself.

"Well, hmm…" Yuzuru began. "So far, I've only told Miyoko, your mother, and my mother."

* * *

Shoya broke out into a sweat, instantly fearing for his life. "Oh g-god…" he said as he put his head in his hands. "You're really trying to have me murdered, aren't you?" Shoya knew that Ms. Nishimiya was very stern and could be very cruel. She initially hated Shoya for bullying her daughter, and she did not truly accept that he had changed until relatively recently. She was good friends with his own mother, and she had treated him kindly as of recently, and she seemed to feel like Shoya was absolved of his sins after he went into a coma to save her daughter, but Shoya still worried that she would disapprove. It would not be the first time that Ms. Nishimiya scolded him or slapped him.

Yuzuru laughed out loud. "Well, actually, she was happy to hear it when I told her yesterday! She was worried that you were going to fall for some other girl while Shoko was in Tokyo!" she said, as she began to lean in closely and whisper. "Just between us two, _my_ mom told me that she and _your _mom had started working on wedding arrangements for you two a looong time ago!"

Shoya blushed and hid his face. "W-well as long as she approves, I really don't mind whatever arrangements she makes! That is, if Shoko feels the same way about me as I do with her…" he said, deep in thought.

"God, shut up, Shoya!" Yuzuru said, punching him in the arm. "You don't have anything to worry about, you should know that better than anyone else!" She set some books down on the table. "On second thought, you do have to worry about my ability to pass this next quiz…" They both laughed, and Shoya began to help Yuzuru with her geometry homework.

* * *

After an hour and a half, Shoya began to walk Yuzuru home. As they got close, Yuzuru sneakily one-hand texted her mother

_we r almost back to the apartment_

As the two approached the apartment building, Shoya realized something that sent chills down his spine from fear- Ms. Nishimiya was waiting outside, seemingly for him. Shoya wanted to turn back as soon as possible, but he was too polite; he had to at least greet her.

* * *

"M-Ms. Nishimiya! Hello ma'am!" Shoya said with a bow, with perhaps too much formality, but an incredible amount of respect and politeness.

"Shoya…" she said, waiting for him to raise his head and give her his attention. Once he did so, she stared at him, or seemingly into his soul. "Yuzuru here told me all about your little crush on Shoko."

Shoya, despite being polite, choppily interrupted Ms. Nishimiya. "I-if I may, ma'am, it's not a little crush! It's more than that, it's a passion, it's my whole life's dedication!" he said loudly and defensively. Immediately he got into dogeza position (formal apology bow) and profusely apologized for interrupting her. Despite doing so, he did not regret saying what he did.

Ms. Nishimiya spoke up again. "...I see. Shoya, stand up." Shoya obeyed, and she stared at him. "Shoya… I don't have to tell you to protect my daughter, you've already proven that you would do that. And it appears as though I don't have to ask you to cherish her, I can tell that you've cherished her for longer than I, or even Yuzuru have trusted you." at this, Yuzuru gave a peace sign and a wink. Ms. Nishimiya continued, "Shoya, as far as I'm concerned, you've earned all the way up to my blessing to marry Shoko."

Shoya blushed hard and bowed. "Th-thank you, ma'am!" he exclaimed.

Ms. Nishimiya smiled and bowed right back at Shoya. "No, Shoya, thank you." she stood back up. "Thank you for everything you've done for this family, from walking Yuzuru home to saving Shoko's life. You are already essentially a member, but I look forward to the day when you are an official one." Shoya blushed hard again. "_Man, I really hope things work out that way… marrying Shoko…_" he thought as his face somehow became more red than it was before.

* * *

The two Nishimiyas thanked Shoya and talked him up, encouraging him even more. But nothing could remove his uncertainty until he could confidently hold Shoko's hand without feeling like a creep. "_Yeah, right… I'll always feel like a creep, even if we __**do**__ end up dating…_" Shoya thought as he walked home.

After eating dinner with his mother, who was all too happy to hear about his plan to go to Tokyo and visit Shoko, Shoya walked back upstairs to text Shoko until he fell asleep. Before he even started typing, he received a message from Shoko. It was a photo; she and Miyoko were hanging out. "_Damn, Miyoko is so efficient!_" he thought, remembering what she told him earlier that day. In the photo, the two girls were both wearing pajamas, and Shoko seemed to be tickling Miyoko. "_What an angel…_" Shoya thought of Shoko as he saved the image to his phone. He spent about fifteen minutes texting Shoko, but, acknowledging that she was busy hanging out with Miyoko, he told her good night and let the two have fun.

* * *

He fell asleep with his phone in his hand, and he woke up two hours later from a text from Shoko.

_hey I know youre probably asleep but I wantes to see how yoy were!_

She was obviously very tired, as she seemed to be texting with her eyes half-open. This detail made Shoya smile and hug his phone to his chest before texting Shoko back.

_I actually woke up from the notification! But don't feel bad about it, how was hanging out with Miyoko?_

_it was sofun she actualy just fell asleeep! we watched movied and she toldme some interesting things!_

_Oh, what movies? And what types of things, unless they're too personal of course!_

_we watched old cheesy godzillla moveis. and heheheh she told me some neat tings about you!_

Shoya couldn't help but panic a little, but he remembered what Miyoko told him. "_Play along with it, Shoya, just play along with it…_" he thought to himself as he texted Shoko back.

* * *

_I see you guys spared no time warming up, you moved straight into the classics! And oh? What did she say about me? Probably something like "he has terrible acne," or something like that, lol_

_dont be ridiculous! why wouls anyonw say that? no she told me that you went to see my mom tosay!_

Shoya's spirits were briefly lifted, after Shoko implied that he didn't have bad acne. Then, after reading more, Shoya slumped his shoulders. "_Of course, Yuzuru tells everyone everything… It makes sense that Miyoko would know about today, too. But damn! I can't play along if I don't know what Miyoko told Shoko, I may end up confirming that something fishy is going on by saying the wrong thing! Shit…_" he thought as he rubbed his chin, wondering how to reply. Thankfully for him, she double texted.

* * *

_miyoko sayd that my mom gave you s stern talkim to! what all did she sayy?_

_Oh! It wasn't anything bad! She just thanked me for always walking Yuzuru home; she says she feels like I'm part of the family!_

Shoya smiled to himself, knowing that he was technically telling the truth, but he then gasped and covered his mouth, worried about whether or not he had said something awkward.

_it really does! i want yoy to be a part f the family forever!_

This last statement tugged on Shoya's heartstrings. His eyes became more than a little moist as he finished up his chat with Shoko. He finally felt confident, like Shoko perhaps shares the same feelings for him as he does for her. "_I love her so freaking much…_" he thought as he wiped his tears up, plugged his phone into the wall, turned the lights off, and drifted into a deep sleep.


	3. Anticipation

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Author's Note (1/6/20): I am going through the fanfiction and correcting typos. On top of this, I am changing the preface to eliminate the connection it had with my other fanfiction, since I want them to be two separate fics. As of today, I've finished Chapter 5. I will begin making Chapter 6 in not too long, so please expect that sometime soon!

* * *

Shoko Nishimiya stared at her phone, where she texted one of her best friends. Back and forth, they caught up with each other over text and made plans to catch up in person.

_Where is your dorm? I'll come and visit you today, since we're both in the city!_

As her friend showed up to the dorm, clad in pajamas, she signed a "_hello_," and let herself in. She signed, asking Shoko to give her a tour around the dorm, which Shoko was more than happy to oblige her by doing.

"So nice!" Miyoko said, as she signed the same thing. "Do you have any roommates?" she asked, and Shoko shook her head. "_Good..._" Miyoko thought mischievously. After the rest of the tour, Miyoko and Shoko sat on Shoko's sofa, watching the television, which had subtitles on. Miyoko had come prepared, so she pulled out a box set of some of the old _Godzilla _movies, which they proceeded to put on. The girls both giggled at how cheesey the special effects were.

* * *

Suddenly, Miyoko's phone buzzed, notifying her that Yuzuru was texting her. Miyoko didn't want to be impolite to Shoko, but Shoko was able the vibration, and she nodded, as if informing Miyoko that it was not impolite to check it.

_miyoko, shoya's in the clear now!_

_What do you mean?_

_he just got finished talking with my mom, he was so scared! XD! b__ut she gave him permission to go for it! like, he has absolutely nothing to worry about now!_

_Oh really? Then I can't wait to hear how his first date goes!_

Miyoko smiled to herself. "_If only you knew just what Shoya is planning, Yuzu…_" she thought, as she put her phone down to look at Shoko.

* * *

Shoko wagged her finger in the air, meaning "_What was that?_"

Miyoko smiled. "Yuzuru was telling me some news, your mother apparently gave Shoya a stern talking-to!" she said, signing at the same time.

"Ah!" Shoko said in surprise, worried about the context of the conversation, so she inquired about it as well. Miyoko played dumb, pretending that Yuzuru had left out a lot of information, so Shoko just frowned and scratched her head. "_What happened?..._" she thought to herself.

Later in the night, the movies had ended, and Shoko and Miyoko started talking (mostly signing) in depth about college life. They sat and chatted for about an hour, talking, gossiping, joking, laughing, lightly roughhousing with each other, and taking photos.

Miyoko took a particularly well-timed photo, where Shoko was in the beginnings of tickling her sides. Shoko asked Miyoko to send it to her, and Miyoko was more than happy to oblige. "_Goooood, now for the next step…_" Miyoko thought as she send it to Shoko. Miyoko took the photo, hoping that Shoko would want her to send it. This was so that she could see just how quickly it was sent to Shoya.

* * *

It was almost immediately. Shoko started texting somebody soon after she received the photo, and from her blush, Miyoko could tell that she was texting Shoya. "Ohh!" Miyoko said, pointing at the phone. "Is that your boyfriend?" she signed.

Shoko blushed profusely and covered her eyes, shaking her head no. "No, ah wish (No, I wish)!" she said aloud, since she had her hands over her eyes and therefore couldn't sign. "I wealleh ige im (I really like him)…" she said sadly. "Ah ehen lub im (I even love him)..."

After she opened her eyes again, Miyoko signed. "_Then why are you so sad?_" to her. Shoko sighed and began to explain, through her hands, that she had tried to confess a long time before, but he misunderstood. Since that happened and Shoko moved, she has begun to worry that he likes somebody else. "_Don't be silly!_" Miyoko signed. "_I am certain that Shoya only has eyes for you!_"

Shoko's eyes went wide as her face went brick red. "Ah! Ow'd uh know (How'd you know)?"

* * *

The two laid down, Miyoko on the cot that she brought from her dorm, and Shoko on her bed. Miyoko seemed tuckered out, so she was already asleep. Shoko looked at her tall, sleeping friend. "_So she already knew?... I wonder who else knows…_" she thought. "_Ahh, I wanna text him so badly…_" Shoko thought as she pulled her phone out, beginning to text him. Her eyes were very heavy, but she managed to keep them open enough to spell her words mostly correct. She was on the verge of passing out, so she wished Shoya a good night and shut her eyes. "Su...ki…" she said out loud right before she fell asleep. This one word, meaning "I like/love you," was not mispronounced like the rest of Shoko's words. She had been practicing.

* * *

*** 11 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya woke up the next morning with a plan. "_Okay, so first, I wish Shoko a 'good morning' and ask her how she's feeling. Then, I ask Miyoko what Shoko's address is, then… No, that's no good…_" he thought. He worried that Miyoko's phone would vibrate, and Shoko would see the text message. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "_Well, a regular 'good morning' to Shoko can't hurt…_" he thought as he sent her a pleasant message to wake up to, accompanied with a beautiful photo of the sky, which was crisp and clear.

He began brainstorming again for a plan of action, wondering how he should go about this. "_Am I overthinking this? Surely it can't be so complicated…_" he thought as he bonked himself on the head, as if trying to provoke thought. "_Man, it's no use… Maybe Miyoko was right, maybe it's as simple as just being myself…_" he thought as he got dressed.

* * *

Shoya spent the morning in a general education class, then he spent the early afternoon at home, doing homework for the class. Despite what his grades in high school may entail, Shoya was intelligent. If he applied himself, he could make all A's. Thankfully for his worried mother, and for his future, Shoya began to apply himself in college. This was for one reason alone- Shoko was planning to work in the same field, and Shoya wanted to impress her.

After Shoya finished homework, he had some downtime, which he used at a restaurant. He ate some delicious takoyaki, while - _big surprise_\- planning to text Shoko. But something struck him as odd. Shoko hadn't replied to the good morning text. "_Is she okay? Could I be annoying her?_" Shoya thought, worridley, as he deleted the text that he was going to send Shoko. He paid for his food and walked home. "_Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I mean, she may even still be in class._" he thought in order to comfort himself. He laid down on his cot and stared up at the ceiling. "_I need a hobby…_"

* * *

That night, Shoko finally texted Shoya back.

_Shoya! Oh my gosh, I need to tell you about my day!_

Shoko began to talk in depth about how she spent the day at class and with Miyoko. In class, she took a test that she was confident that she got a perfect score on. With Miyoko, she did some research, walked around Tokyo, seeing tourist attractions, eating tasty food, and getting hit on by guys that she couldn't hear at a restaurant.

This last detail gave Shoya a painful feeling in his stomach and his heart. "Ah…" he exclaimed from pain and sorrow. He swallowed his worry and texted her back.

_That sounds like a great time! I actually tried a new restaurant today too, it was incredible! I didn't get catcalled though, LOL!_

_Good! It wasn't fun for me; I couldn't hear them, not that I would want to!_

_Oh? Well in that case I'm glad you couldn't hear them! I wish I could've shooed them away for you!_

Shoya gulped. He knew that what he said was risky, but he would have to be taking a big risk soon anyways, so he had to start somewhere.

_(◕‿◕✿) I wish!_

Shoya blushed and laughed. "_Maybe I don't have anything to worry about, then…_" he thought as he sighed with relief. Shoko had some homework to work on, so Shoya told her, "goodbye," and texted Miyoko instead, as it was obvious to Shoya that she had left from Shoko's dorm.

* * *

_Miyoko! I saw that you were hanging out with Shoko! How did everything go?_

_:) information acquired! Though, I've got another condition for you, before you can hear it!_

_Well, I have no choice, so what is it?_

_You can't just tell her that you like her, Shoya. You have to tell her that you __**love **__her._

_Ah! That went without saying! I was already gonna do that!_

Shoya smiled, imagining saying those words aloud to Shoko, accompanied with the hand signs. Miyoko sent Shoya the address to Shoko's dorm, and they chatted for a bit more. Miyoko may be helping Shoya out with this, but she was also a friend, whom Shokya could talk with normally. After a while, Miyoko had to go, and Shoya set his phone down for a while.

* * *

"Ahhhhhh..." Shoya exclaimed in boredom, when a voice responded, making him jump. Yuzuru had called his name while standing in his doorway. "J-jeez! You scared the crap outta me!" he said loudly, and Yuzuru snickered.

"Hey, help me with homework…" she said, though it seemed like something else was on her mind. "Erm… and let's feed the koi afterwards?" she asked of him. Shoya nodded, and they got to it.

"Why did you sound so nervous about feeding the koi?" Shoya asked after her homework was completed, while she began to place her book back inside her backpack. Yuzuru shrugged, but Shoya could tell that something was wrong, but he assumed that she was waiting until they were both feeding the koi to talk about it.

* * *

Shoya was absolutely correct. As they tore bread and dropped it down for the koi to eat, Yuzuru spoke up. "H-hey, Shoya…" she started, and Shoya looked over at her. "A-are you and Shoko going to stay close to home?" she asked sadly.

"O-of course! Well, _I'd_ like to, but I know Shoko will probably achieve more than me, so she may really move to Tokyo…" he said, rubbing his neck.

"Cut it out man…" Yuzuru replied, quietly and somewhat frustrated. "Cut that crap out! You and her are going to be living together! Obviously you'll move wherever she moves, or she'll move wherever you do!"

Shoya backed up a bit. "L-look! As much as I want to say that I'll marry Shoko and live with her, I can't guarantee it! I still don't know how she feels about me!" he said, matching her frustration. "Th-that's the point of my confession- to find out how she feels…"

Yuzuru sighed. "If you don't know by now, you probably still won't know on your wedding night. You're hopeless, Shoya." she said, in her usual, cheerful, teasing voice. "Promise me that you'll try to stay close to home?"

"Y-yeah. I promise that I'll try…" Shoya said, thinking about what Yuzuru said.

He continued thinking about it as he walked back to his house. "_I wonder why everyone acts like I'm oblivious, or just some kind of moron… Has Shoko told everyone else that she loves me, except for me?_" he pondered for a moment. He hung his head in embarrassment for thinking such a thing. "_Ahh, that's definitely wrong..._"

* * *

When he got home, he sat and ate dinner, talking with his mother. She was smiling a lot for some reason. "What's got you in such a good mood, huh?" Shoya asked.

"Oh, nothing… I was just talking on the phone with Ms. Nishimiya about you…" she said, teasingly and knowingly. Shoya, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, blushed. "We were just talking about how great it is that you're finally going to be asking Shoko out."

Shoya slumped down in his chair. "Hey, mom... about that..." he began to ask. "Please don't laugh, but everyone makes it seem like I'm some idiot for doubting that I have a chance with Shoko, but I can't figure out why… Do you think that I have a chance with her?"

Ms. Ishida stifled her laughter and shakily answered, "O-of course I do, honey! Don't you find any comfort in the fact that the people who know Shoko best think you two will end up getting married?" she asked.

Shoya rubbed his arm. "Umm… it just makes me feel like they're setting me up for some cruel prank, honestly…" Shoya confessed. "But if they're being honest, I'll definitely apologize for thinking this way." he added. Ms. Ishida giggled at this, and they continued their talking about their respective days until Shoya finished his dinner.

* * *

After Shoko finished her homework, she packed her notebook and pencils away, pulled out her phone, flopped onto her bed, kicked her legs in the air, and began to text Shoya.

_Hi! I'm finally finished with all of my assignments, how are you? And what're you up to?_

_I'm good! I'm mostly just researching something, but I'd rather be talking to you anyways!_

Shokos legs kicked through the air faster, and she buried her face in her pillow before turning her head to continue looking at the screen and texting.

_Aww! You're so sweet, Shoya! What are you researching? If you don't mind me asking!_

_Ahh, well, it's nothing much really! I was just looking up different ways to do something._

_That's vague, please tell me more! And actually, I've been doing a lot of research as well, is yours for school?_

_Yeah! For a math problem! Speaking of which, tell me about the research you're doing! Is yours for school too? And are you kicking butt at it like you did on that test this morning?_

* * *

_Yeah, it's for school! But surprisingly, this is tougher than the test was, but I've been working on it for a while now! I think I'll get it down!_

Shoko smiled, her finger twirling her hair in her index finger as she texted Shoya. Shoko felt bad about lying, but it was better this way. Besides, she wasn't lying about anything other than the minute detail of her saying that it was "for school." She wasn't really doing research for school, she was doing research on spoken words. "Sho...ya… Izz...ida…" she would often say, practicing to herself. Miyoko informed her that she did well on the first name, but she last name would take her a little more practice.

_Ahh, maybe I can help you! I'd like to think I'm doing really well in all of my classes, maybe our courses are similar!_

_I'd love your help, but not tonight! I'm done with homework for the night, it's time for relaxation, not critical thought, LOL!_

Shoko smiled. "_I want you to help me learn your last name later… when it's my last name too…_" she thought confidently. "Izz...ida Shoko-des (My name is Shoko Ishida)!" she practiced out loud, not knowing at all whether or not she was pronouncing it correctly.

_Ahh, okay! Maybe next time I see you, then? Either way, you can always come to me for anything, Shoko!_

_Thank you, Shoya! You always brighten my day!_

* * *

Both of their hearts pounded. Shoko sent a photo of herself smiling, indicating how happy Shoya made her. She wanted to believe that this was going to escalate into her giving a confession, but she knew deep down that she was nervous since last time didn't go so well. "_Maybe he'll confess to me?..._" Shoko thought as her heart continued to pound.

_Ahh, you're so amazing! You never cease to make me smile, Shoko!_

If their individual heart rates were fast before, they were even faster now. Shoya, although hesitant, took a picture of himself smiling. This was not one of his fake, photo-only smiles; this was genuine. He stared at the message and photo that Shoko sent him, and it made his whole face, whole mind, and whole soul smile with pure joy. After he sent it, he regretted it, feeling like he was ugly, but his happy feeling did not subside.

For the next few hours, their hearts raced. They talked, each on the verge of confessing to the other, but hesitant due to waiting for the other to initiate it. At the end of the conversation, when they were both too tired to continue, neither of them had gotten anywhere. They wished each other "good night," and tried to shake off the sadness that accompanied the feeling that they had messed up. That night, they felt an overwhelming urge to either confess to the other or cry.

That night, they both fell asleep with damp pillows.


	4. No Plan

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Author's Note (1/6/20): I am going through the fanfiction and correcting typos. On top of this, I am changing the preface to eliminate the connection it had with my other fanfiction, since I want them to be two separate fics. As of today, I've finished Chapter 5. I will begin making Chapter 6 in not too long, so please expect that sometime soon!

* * *

*** 10 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya woke up the next morning feeling miserable. The anxiety and anticipation of wanting so desperately to tell Shoko how he felt was almost tangible. "_Damn, man…_" Shoya thought as he laid in bed, not eager to move around. He got out of bed, though, and got dressed for school. His classes just involved review, since a large test was coming up. Shoya was not worried about it though, because he worked hard and studied all of the time.

Unlike his usual day in class though, he was not assigned homework. Shoya wanted to use this extra free time to do something fun, like text Shoko, see a movie, or even go out to eat with his family. However, he did not have the drive to do anything that involved moving around a lot, so he just chose the former.

He found it hard to pick up his phone and begin texting. This was not due to a lack of energy; this was due to the anxiety he felt after being so close to confessing last night. "Damn, damn, damn…" Shoya muttered to himself as he stared at his ceiling.

* * *

He finally worked up the courage to say something, so he did. He decided to try and forget the pain, driving on as if nothing was unusual.

_Hey Shoko, I'm actually free from homework today! How are you this fine morning?_

_I'm actually feeling really sick and tired, so I had to skip class today :( __But I'll be okay, don't worry about me!_

_Oh my goodness, you're the star student. If you're absent from school today then you must REALLY not be feeling well! Please, rest up, hydrate, and take medicine! I want you to get better!_

Shoko smiled weakly at her phone. She was not actually sick. In reality, she was just sad about how the previous night went. She was, however, incredibly happy to see how sweet and caring Shoya was.

_I will get my rest, but I'd like to talk to you while I'm still awake!_

_Hmm, but as soon as you seem too tired to talk, I'll make you go to bed! Sleep is more important than silly old me!_

Shoko stared at her phone. So badly, she wanted to text Shoya, saying, "_You're wrong!_" or that, "_There's nothing in this world more important to me than you are!_" but she found herself cowering at the prospect of confessing, despite the fact that she felt so confident the night before. After last night's events, she was certain that it was better to just confess in person. She felt like that was the only way it should be done; text does the confession no justice whatsoever.

So, they continued the conversation normally, until, ironically, Shoya started getting tired. Shoko pulled the same card on Shoya as he did to her, demanding that he get some rest.

_Finr but ill talk later!_

Shoya sent this message and a sleepy selfie, set his phone on the floor, and took a nap for a few hours.

* * *

Shoko, after sending back a selfie, which she knew that Shoya would not see until later, began to absentmindedly practice saying words out loud. "Sho...ya… Izzi...da…" she repeated a few times. She turned on her TV, which had subtitles on, and watched a movie. "_I should see Miyoko!_" she thought as she switched off the TV and texted her friend.

_Miyoko! Would you like to come over and hang out today?_

_Sure! But after class, I'm working with Naoka right now! I'll text you when I'm on my way! :)_

_Alright! I'll see you later!_

Shoko set her phone back down. She knew exactly what she was going to talk with Miyoko about, but she felt selfish asking her to come over just for that. So, she set out a sleeping bag and got some movies and food ready for watching and eating, respectively. Soon, Shoko got a text that she never expected to.

_Uhh… Naoka wants to know if she can come over too… is that okay with you?_

_Oh, of course! I'll make some extra food :)_

Deep inside, Shoko was worried. Naoka Ueno had always been cruel to her, harassing her, slapping her, pulling her hair, even putting dirt in her shoes. More recently, she had been better about it, but she was still quite mean. This didn't stop Shoko from liking her though, since Shoko didn't have a mean bone in her body.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Shoko received a message from Miyoko, telling Shoko that she and Naoka were at the door. Shoko opened it up, greeting them both with a smile. Miyoko smiled, but Naoka just walked in and looked around. Shoko wasn't surprised by this behavior though, it would be irregular for Naoka to act cheerful or friendly.

Shoko turned on the movie and sat down with Miyoko, while Naoka sat in a little armchair a few feet away. Miyoko texted Shoko to get her attention.

_So, has everything been going well with Shoya?_

Shoko looked up at Miyoko, who was smiling brightly at her. Shoko just frowned and looked down. She texted back, telling Miyoko everything that had happened last night, how she was convinced that one of them would confess, but nobody did.

_I'm beginning to worry that he doesn't have feelings for me, actually…_

At this, Miyoko laughed out loud, and Naoka gave her a funny look. "What're you two up to?" she asked as she stood up, walking towards Miyoko. "You know, I can tell that something has been up, I've just been curious about what it is." she said, propping herself on the armrest of the sofa. "So, let me guess, it's about Shoya, right?"

Shoko gasped. She could hear very little of what Naoka said, but she heard the word "Shoya," escape her lips. "How dih uh know (How did you know)?" Shoko asked.

"Well, it's always been sort of obvious, and I could tell that Miyoko was helping you out since she visited you out of the blue." Naoka replied, and Miyoko translated into sign language. "Also, my main reason for being here was to come tell you not to try anything with him." she said coldy.

Miyoko hesitantly translated, and Shoko looked shocked. "Whah do uh mean (What do you mean)?" she asked nervously.

Naoka snickered and stood up, getting ready to leave. "You'd just be embarrassing yourself. Shoya told me that you two are 'just friends.'" After saying this, she opened the door and headed out, walking back to her dorm. She sighed. "_It's hopeless, no matter what I try… Of course he loves Shoko…_" she thought on the way back. The truth was, she knew that Shoya had feelings for Shoko, despite what he told her so long ago. She felt a little bad about trying to sabotage things for Shoya and Shoko, but she _hated_ Shoko. Well, that was at least what she would tell herself all the time.

* * *

Back at Shoko's dorm, Shoko was a mess. Miyoko had translated what Naoka had said, also adding in her two cents, making sure Shoko knew that she strongly believed that Shoya really _did_ have feelings for her (since he was the one who told Miyoko). Despite this, all Shoko could do was mope or worry. "_She might be telling the truth…_" Shoko thought, worried out of her mind. Miyoko spent a few minutes trying to console Shoko when suddenly she got a text from Shoya.

_Wow, such a wonderful sight to wake up to! :)_

Shoko stared at her phone, wondering what he meant. She blushed, realizing what he meant. Miyoko saw it too, and Shoko barely heard an "Awww!" escape her mouth. Shoya was responding to the selfie that Shoko had sent him while he was sleeping. This gave Shoko a little more hope, allowing her to continue her day without much worry or anxiety. She texted Shoko, telling him that she was hanging out with Miyoko, and that she would talk later.

* * *

Naoka felt plain bad now. Of course, she still blamed Shoko for ruining things between Shoya, herself, Keisuke, and Kazuki (Keisuke and Kazuki were old friends of the former two, back in elementary school), but she knew that Shoya was happiest with Shoko. No amount of jealousy would make her want to take Shoya's happiness away; that had already been done too many times before.

Naoka walked back to Shoko's dorm, where she could hear giggling from the other side. "_Uggh… I can't believe I'm about to do this…_" she thought before knocking on the door. The giggling paused, and footsteps were heard coming towards the door. Miyoko opened it. "Oh, Naoka! Did you forget something?"

"Ah… Not exactly…" she said as she let herself in. "Miyoko, you translate, and translate it well. I don't want to say this ever again." she said commandingly. She turned to face Shoko. "I am sorry. I wasn't exactly lying when I said that Shoya told me... that he thought of you as 'just a friend,' but I know that he was lying… please make him happy, okay? And try not to rub your relationship in my face…" On this note, she turned around and left, while Miyoko was still translating to Shoko.

* * *

Shoko just tilted her head at first. "_This girl really confuses me…_" she thought to herself. By the end of Miyoko's translation, Shoko had become shocked. Shoko was surprised that Naoka, out of everyone, was telling her this. She ran out to her doorway, where Naoka was at the end of the hallway. Shoko yelled out to her. "I ill! I swear to uh I'll make im appy! (I will! I swear to you I'll make him happy!)" Naoka paused. It was clear to Shoko that Naoka heard her, but she was doubtful that Naoka would acknowledge her.

Surprisingly, Naoka turned around. Shoko expected Naoka to run over to her and yell, or even slap her. Instead, she held her left arm parallel to the ground, her palm facing the floor. She then took her right hand and placed it perpendicular to her left wrist, before picking it back up and turning around. Naoka left, and Shoko was stunned. She had just thanked Shoko in sign language. "Shu...wa?..." she said, confused, as she walked back inside (Shuwa is the Japanese word for "Sign Language").

Miyoko smiled at Shoko. "_Yeah, she's tried learning it. She really doesn't hate you, despite what she says._"

The two went back to watching movies, but Shoko's mind was racing back and forth between Shoya's compliment and Naoka's sign language. "_She thanked me?... For promising to make him happy?_" This, in turn, made Shoko happy.

After the movie, Miyoko and her chatted a while before going to bed, where Shoko texted Shoya for the next ten minutes. She was sure to thank him for his kind remarks many times, kind of unsubtly asking for more, but Shoya was oblivious. Shoko shrugged it off as she and him exchanged goodnights. She was left more confused than sad on this night.

* * *

*** 9 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya woke up at the usual time, and he treated his day like any normal one. He went to his college class, came home, and did homework. His homework was very light today, similar to the light, albeit nonexistant, assignment he received yesterday. He sent Shoko a message, making sure that she's okay after having said that she was sick, but her silence meant that she was too busy to reply. After spending a few minutes doing the homework, he decided that it was best to do something fun, while he still had the energy to.

Shoya spent a few minutes wondering where to go, but he suddenly had an idea. "_I know, I'll see if Tomohiro's back in town yet!_" he thought as he whipped out his phone and began texting. He got a response soon after, and plans were made.

Shoya was glad to be seeing another one of his friends. He was very fortunate that Tomohiro was already out of school, since he and Tomohiro had not seen each other in months. Tomohiro came back to his house for the holidays, which were coming up at the end of the month. This meant that he and Tomohiro would be hanging out a lot more

* * *

"Hey, long time no see, Ya-Sho!" Tomohiro said cheerfully. "Where ya been, it feels like you disappeared off the face of the Earth!"

"You're one to talk, man! At least I stayed local!" Shoya said, referring to the fact that he stayed in his hometown for higher education, while Tomohiro left. "Hey, so wanna go eat somewhere or watch a movie?" he asked excitedly, eager to spend time with his friend and potentially gain some insight on his current predicament.

After going to see a movie, the two sat down and ate in the food court, spending the next little while catching up. "So, do you have anything you wanna do during break?" Shoya asked before sipping on his soft drink. "I've actually been meaning to spend more time with my friends!"

"Yeah, I really want to make a new movie! I've written a script and everything! It only needs two people, so how about it, Ya-Sho?" he asked eagerly.

"A-ah… well, about this week… do you think it could wait until next week or so?" he asked nervously. He truly wanted to spend time with Tomohiro, but he felt like he_ had_ to devote this time to Shoko. Like he would lose his only chance if he didn't. He kicked himself, though, since he was still so nervous despite dedicating this time to her.

Tomohiro frowned. "Well, I guess that would work, yeah. Is something the matter, though? You know, you can tell me anything, Ya-Sho!" he exclaimed.

Shoya rubbed his neck and sighed. "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you this. I'm going to confess to Shoko, like, really soon." he said quietly. "But I'm sure you already knew that, right?"

Tomohiro chuckled. "Why, of course. I've known that since I've known Shoko." he said confidently, though Shoya felt like this was an exaggeration. "Anyways, how are you going to ask her? Any particular ideas?"

"Umm, well, I was wondering if you could help me on that front. I know I'll be going to her dorm, and telling her in person, but I don't know what to do other than that." he said nervously.

"Oh my! You're awfully bold, aren't you?" Tomohiro joked. "What's next, you really might end up needing that love-hotel money?"

Shoya blushed and denied that he would "try anything," with Shoko, other than confessing to her. The two discussed this further, and surprisingly to Shoya, he felt like he had gained some valuable insight. The two walked over to Shoya's house, where Yuzuru was waiting inside.

* * *

"Oh, Tomohiro, you're back in town!" Yuzuru said, surprisingly cheerfully. She then whispered, "Hey, Shoya, does he know? Cause that's what I'm here to talk about!"

"Y-yeah, he knows." Shoya replied. He sighed and thought to himself, "_And so does the everyone else in the world, apparently..._"

"So, we need to discuss this, then!" Yuzuru said excitedly. "When are you going to Tokyo?"

"W-What? Miyoko told you?" Shoya asked frustratedly. "_Can I trust any of these girls?_" he thought.

"Haha! Nope!" Yuzuru exclaimed. "I just guessed that you were, since you let Miyoko take over! Anyways, answer the question, Shoya! I won't try to stop you or anything, man. I actually think it's a good idea for you to visit her instead of waiting."

"Yeah! We've got your back, Ya-Sho!" Tomohiro said, suddenly lumping himself in with Yuzuru, who snickered at this.

"Uhh, well, I was thinking about visiting her on the last day of the month. She should be mostly done with classes by then, I think. Why? What're you scheming?" Shoya asked nervously.

"It's just what I suspected…" Yuzuru said with her finger on her chin. "You want to get there just a few days before she comes back so you can have an excuse to stay the night…" she said skeptically, clicking her tongue, and Tomohiro gasped.

"Th-that's not what I wanted at all! Besides, isn't the end of the month five days before the deadline? That's not exactly what I'd call a 'few days!'" Shoya said defensively.

"Oh, so it's 'not what you wanted,' eh!?" Yuzuru said pointedly. "So then Shoko isn't physically attractive enough for you, then!? You don't think that she's beautiful!?" She was not being serious in these accusations, of course. She just wanted to get a rise out of Shoya, which she was accomplishing very well.

"Ya-Sho! I can't believe you!" Tomohiro said offendedly, as if Shoya had just proclaimed that he had a new best friend, ousting Tomohiro from the position.

"Y-you are all blowing this out of proportion! Shoko is more beautiful than anything I could ever comprehend! I never said she wasn't pretty!" he said, being sure to skim around the "physically attractive," portion of this.

Yuzuru took a photo of Shoya's flushed, angry face. "Haha, I know! I'm just messing with you, I wanted a good photo!" she said as she looked at it through her camera. "I swear I wasn't videotaping you this time though!" she said while snickering.

Shoya calmed down, and the conversation devolved into what it usually would between the three; Yuzuru joking, Shoya replying seriously, and Tomohiro defending Shoya.

* * *

Shoko got done with a huge homework assignment, only to see two notifications on her phone. One was from almost eight hours ago, when Shoya asked her if she was feeling better, and the other was from ten minutes ago, from Yuzuru. Shoko opened Shoya's message first, replying,

_Sorry, I was super busy! But I can talk now! Yes, I am actually feeling better now, thank you so much for asking! __(__づ｡◕‿‿◕｡__)__づ_

She then opened Yuzuru's message, curious as to what she sent. All it was, was a photo of Shoya, making an incredibly goofy face, looking like he was photographed in between words.

Shoko replied with an "_Aww!_" before setting her phone down and picking up a book. She would read to pass the time, until she felt a vibration from her phone of course. Soon enough, that came. Shoko was hoping it would be from Shoya, but it was from Yuzuru. Shoko kicked herself for preferring the former to the latter, but she couldn't help it.

_So, you've given up all hopes in being subtle about it?_

_What do you mean?_

_Your love for Ishida, you really can't say "Aww!" to such an ugly photo without really loving him!_

_I can't help it, he's just so handsome! :)_

Shoko smiled as she texted her sister. It felt nice to have so many people to talk about this with, and she was glad that her sister was one of them. Shoko began to feel confident again. "_I'm really going to do it, maybe not tonight, but I definitely will!_" she thought with clenched fists, psyching herself up.

* * *

Shoko was working on a plan for when she left from Tokyo. Since her classes would be over by then, she planned to leave several days early in order to surprise Shoya and have some alone time with him, without any interference from Yuzuru. Little did she know, Shoya was planning exactly the same thing.

* * *

It was all planned out in Shoko's head. She was going to knock on his room's wall to wake him up that morning. Of course, he would expect that it was Maria, or maybe his sister, but he would be surprised to figure out that it's Shoko. Then, she would sit down with him and talk through signs for a while, before asking him to go out and walk through a park. Then, on the way back from the park, they would "conveniently," stop by the bridge, where Shoko would use everything in her power to attempt to confess in her best spoken voice. If he didn't understand like he did last time she tried to confess, then Shoko would do the next best thing: she would kiss him. She knew in the back of her mind that she would try and kiss Shoya regardless, though. "_I'll finally go through with it…_" she thought as she shut her eyes tight clenched her pajamas in balled-up fists. She was startled back to normality when she got a notification, this time from Shoya.

* * *

_Hey, Shoko! I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better! I apologize for not replying sooner, I've been hanging out with Tomohiro and Yuzuru!_

"_Tomohiro's back in town?_" Shoko thought, beginning to worry whether she would interfere with any sort of plans, ones that Shoya and him made, if she showed up unannounced. Shoko pondered for a moment but texted back, deciding to subtly ask what was on her mind.

_So Tomohiro's back! That's awesome, so you two will be hanging out a lot during break, I take it?_

_Yeah! Well- we will be hanging out, but not during this week. I've got big plans!_

Shoko slumped over, feeling more defeated than before. "_Dang it… he really has already made plans…_" she thought as she tried to find words to appropriately, yet subtly, convey the questions in her head.

_Really? What sort of plans?_

_I'll tell you next time I see you! Since that won't be for a while, don't worry about it too much! ;) __Tell me about your day!_

_If you insist! And my day has been long! It was lots and lots of work. Since the semester ends next week, I've been taking finals or studying all day!_

* * *

The two continued their conversation for another few minutes. As if it has now become a ritual, the two sent each other good night selfies, and Shoya felt like he couldn't be any happier. "_Shoot man, is it wrong to make this my phone background?..._" Shoya thought as he saved the image and did exactly that. He felt like every time he looked at his phone now, he would be warmed to the core from Shoko's effortless beauty, her dazzling eyes, and her genuine smile. He would constantly be reminded of why he was alive and who he lived for.

Shoko felt the same thing. Through Shoya's charming face and spiky hair, Shoko was reminded of all of the times that he would do everything in his power to make her happy. Shoya was constantly trying to make her smile, and since summer, he hadn't failed once. Shoko had stopped feeling like she was a burden on people, like she ruined Shoya's friendships. _She even stopped wanting to die_. She was reminded of this every time she saw Shoya's face. Even when Shoya was gloomy or worried, Shoko would always feel happier just by looking at him, despite being very empathetic (she would be happy that she was with him, but sad for the same reason he is sad, angry, etc…).

The two spent maybe ten minutes just admiring all of the photos that they have acquired from the other. They made no effort to stop, but instead, they simply passed out while staring at photos of the person that they love.

* * *

*** 8 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya had no particular plans for confessing to Shoko. Though he normally would, Shoya eventually decided against making some sort of well-thought-out plan for it, since he wanted to be spontaneous and act from his heart, not from any sort of rehearsal. All that he knew was that he would go to her dorm, hold her hand, confess, and try to kiss her. If she seemed appalled by his confession, he would abandon all hope of trying to kiss her and probably just leave, apologizing later over text. "_Please, God, don't let that happen to me…_" he pleaded in his mind.

Shoya felt bored. Just thinking about how he would take action later while doing nothing in the present made him sigh with anticipation. "_What am I waiting on?_" he thought. He really didn't have anything to wait on; he _could_ just go today. He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He was too nervous to just go out of the blue. He sighed and contemplated everything. "_I'll go when it feels right…_" he thought as he scratched his arm.

This left Shoya with absolutely nothing left to do. He was too nervous to think of some elaborate plan, but he was too nervous to go ahead and be spontaneous. Being caught in this state of limbo, Shoya decided not to think too hard on anything except for class this morning.

* * *

Shoya spent the next few hours essentially sleepwalking his way through college, effortlessly completing all his assignments with near perfect to perfect marks. Nothing he did required enough effort to take his mind off of Shoko. He couldn't tell if he minded or not; he loved thinking about her, but he was nervous enough about his predicament to be stressed at the same time as elated. So, Shoya began to experience difficulty in going through his day, knowing about the looming deadline that he had to beat.

So, even with the deadline approaching quickly, Shoya decided not to take any action. He constantly kicked himself for his lack of motivation, or perhaps it was just anxiety. He sat around at home, waiting for the time to feel appropriate to take action. In short, other than school and texting Shoko, Shoya accomplished absolutely nothing that day.

* * *

*** 7 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

Shoya felt completely content accomplishing nothing again- or he at least didn't feel as guilty about it as he has for other things. This remained the truth for most of the day; he didn't even ask Tomohiro or anyone else to hang out. He just sat around and read. "_Maybe I won't even know when the time feels appropriate… I need a sign, some sort of excuse to see her…_" Shoya thought, and he laughed. He had found himself thinking the exact same thing he had almost a year ago.

A sign, or at least a catalyst that would soon bring a sign, made itself known when Yuzuru, who seemed shaken up, invited herself over to his house that night.


	5. Departure

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Author's Note (1/6/20): I am going through the fanfiction and correcting typos. On top of this, I am changing the preface to eliminate the connection it had with my other fanfiction, since I want them to be two separate fics. As of today, I've finished Chapter 5. I will begin making Chapter 6 in not too long, so please expect that sometime soon!

* * *

Yuzuru Nishimiya hated Shoya Ishida. At least, that is what she would have said around half a year ago. Even then, it wasn't true; she stopped hating Shoya a few weeks after they met initially.

Their first few times meeting did not entail that Shoya would be getting close to any of the Nishimiyas any time soon. For one, Shoya had not yet met Yuzuru herself. He came to her high school to return the communication notebook that Shoko had left in the pond at their elementary school so long ago. Shoko's mother was unhappy that Shoko would take the book, so she threw it over the Suimon bridge, where Shoko jumped after it, and Shoya jumped after her. Yuzuru, who had been spying on this interaction, took a photo of Shoya's jump so that she could get him in trouble at school (she succeeded; Shoya was suspended). On top of this, Ms. Nishimiya slapped Shoya hard for all the troubles he had caused, both before and after that day.

Shoya was still in the process of trying to become friends with Shoko, something that he denied her the opportunity to five years beforehand. He walked to Shoko's high school, bringing with him a skillfully-baked loaf of bread with the hopes that they could feed the koi together. Yuzuru, who knew that Shoya would probably come back since he showed up recently, posed as a young boy to deter Shoya from interacting with Shoko again.

Of course, Shoya and Shoko still managed to meet up and talk, but this was to the dismay of Yuzuru. In another attempt to prevent Shoya from interacting with, Yuzuru attacked Shoya, knocking him off of his bike and kicking him several times. To justify this and provide even more of a deterrent, Yuzuru claimed to be Shoko's boyfriend, saying that the two had bathed together. Despite doing this, and even admitting to taking the photo that caused Shoya's suspension, Shoya was never cruel back. He felt like every punishment he received was justified, and he never wanted to see Shoko or anyone closely associated with her hurting. He was exclusively very kind to Yuzuru, even saving her when she collapsed from hunger.

Because of Shoya's unwavering kindness to Yuzuru, she has become quite attached to him, seeing him not only as a friend but as an older brother. Because of this, on top of the fact that she had very few other friends, she wasn't eager to have him depart.

* * *

*** 7 Days Until the Deadline ***

* * *

"Shoya…" Yuzuru started, averting eye contact. "I know I already asked, but you're gonna try and stay close to home, right?"

Shoya, who had been lost in thought, jumped at suddenly hearing Yuzuru's voice. "D-dude! You've gotta knock or something, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Shoya looked up at Yuzuru, expecting to find glee in her face for scaring her friend so badly. What he found instead, was a face that expressed worry. "U-um yeah, I am… But what exactly brings this up?"

Yuzuru sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I wish I was better at communication." she began. "I mean Shoko's friggin' deaf and she's better at conveying how she feels than me! But here's the kicker, I don't need to be so reserved and protective of Shoko, so I should be blooming right about now! But… I still don't have many friends…"

Shoya scratched his head. "I… I'm not sure what you're getting at. Are you trying to get me to stay so you won't be lonely?" Shoya asked, concerned.

Yuzuru looked away. "Well… I wish you would, but that's not what I'm here for. I want your honest opinion… have I changed at all? Should I change?" She began to ask.

"Oh… well I think you've changed, yeah." He said while scratching his head, thinking of the best way to articulate his words. "Like, you're a lot nicer to me than you used to be… and despite what you say, you aren't as protective over Shoko as you used to be…"

"That's not what I mean though… I want to make more friends, Shoya… do you think that I can, like, with how I act?" she asked. She looked away to hide her expression. "I… know that you and sis aren't guaranteed to stay here, so I wanna make sure I at least have someone to talk to…"

* * *

Shoya thought back to a few months ago, when he was trying to comfort Yuzuru, who was sad about something (Yuzuru was sad about her grandmother passing away, but Shoya didn't know this at the time). Yuzuru used an example of a creamer to represent someone who was close but left her. To counter this, Shoya provided examples of people who were still there to support her, bringing several creamers to the table. "_I can bring more if you'd like…_" Shoya remembered saying. "_Oh man… She's right to be sad…_" Shoya thought as he pictured the creamers representing himself, Shoko, Miyoko, Tomohiro, and more, all departing, leaving the Yuzuru-creamer by itself.

"Yuzuru…" Shoya said, knowing finally what she was talking about. "You know that no matter how far away we go, we'll still be there for you." he said consolingly. "Besides, we can text and stuff, and you're in high school! I bet you can get famous off your photography skill alone!"

Yuzuru sighed. "Believe it or not, I still don't have any friends at my school. Taiyo Girls' Academy is… well… so girly, and I'm so… not." she said somberly.

Shoya rested his head on one of his hands. "So what? If you don't have friends in any of your classes now, it won't be impossible to make any! I'm living proof that a loner, scumbag can make friends, you know that better than most people!"

Yuzuru snickered and looked his way. Her eyes were a bit damp, but she was smiling. "You're right, I never thought of it that way… If someone like _you_ can make friends then so can I!" She said with crossed arms. Shoya just gave a sarcastic laugh, but Yuzuru was genuinely happy. "Shoya, I don't think I've ever thanked you for everything. I wish you had more confidence."

"...Confidence?" he asked, scratching his head. "You mean like, in asking Shoko out?"

"Well, yeah, dummy. Look, Shoya, I'm going to be real with you. This is like riding on an airplane, yeah? It's scary at first, but you're definitely gonna be okay." Yuzuru said. "You'll definitely end up going out with her, so why be so worried about how she'll react?"

Shoya sighed. He looked at Yuzuru, maintaining eye contact. "Do you really mean it?" he said in an all-too serious tone. "And please don't just laugh and dismiss me as some sort of idiot!" he pleaded.

Yuzuru started to laugh but she stifled it by covering her mouth. She settled down and spoke clearly. "Look, Shoya. The only reason people laugh when you ask that is 'cause it's like a fish asking if it can swim."

"_She's really into using analogies tonight, huh…_" Shoya thought to himself.

"In other words, you look stupid 'cause it's so obvious to everyone else that you guys will end up together. You're asking a really easy question with such uncertainty, it's just so-" she was cut off by her own laughter, as she pointed and laughed at Shoya's expression. Shoya looked half offended and half baffled, offended because everyone seemed to think he was foolish for his concern, and baffled because his concerns were unanimously deemed unfounded by seemingly everybody he knew.

"Y-you've got nothing to worry about, man. Trust me. Oh, and… thank you, Shoya. I'm definitely gonna make some friends, and- er- always keep in touch with you." Yuzuru said kindly.

"I h-haven't really done much, but you're welcome…" he said as he rubbed his shoulder. "I should really be the one thanking_ you_, Yuzuru. Now I know what I've gotta do." he said as he turned his head to look out the window.

Yuzuru giggled. "Whatever that means. I'll see you… thank you in advance for making Shoko happy, she's a lucky girl…" she said as she walked out of the room. Shoya continued staring at the ceiling. Instead of worrying about his ability to do what Yuzuru said, he just blushed at the idea that it was not only possible, but probable too.

* * *

Shoya opened his closet. "_I need to put on something nice…_" he thought as he scoured through his clothes. He considered wearing his school uniform, since he hadn't grown taller in the past few months, but he felt like this was _too_ formal. He settled on a nice collar shirt and his school trousers, with a jacket pulled over his shirt. He hugged his mother goodbye and departed for the train station.

* * *

Earlier that morning, Shoko and Miyoko were hanging out again. Shoko was really happy to have somebody to spend time with in person, since she didn't have any close friends at her university on account of her deafness. Miyoko and her spent hours just looking through clothing stores, piecing together cute fits, and tying up their hair in pretty and unique ways. When they got back to Shoko's dorm, they ate food, watched movies, and chatted.

Shoko was a little sad that she hadn't talked to Shoya all day, but that was alright. She planned on seeing him, in person, tomorrow morning. She would leave around 7 and arrive at around noon. She informed Miyoko of her plans, and Miyoko was all-too excited to hear about them. She clapped with glee, then signed an, "_You're actually going to see him! I can't wait, will you kiss him too?_" At this, Shoko blushed, but she confidently nodded.

Shoko had a plan. Even though she knew that Shoya had some sort of big plan that took priority over even hanging out with Tomohiro, she was confident that Shoya would at least be home in the early morning; Shoko knew how much Shoya loved sleeping in. So, she would take the train over to the city, where she would visit the Ishida residence. Hopefully Shoya would still be asleep, so that she could wake him up with a kiss. Shoko had never been one to waste any time, so she would just have to act and hope for the best. "_It also spares me from any potential miscommunication, too…_" she explained to Miyoko, who seemed to be glowing with excitement and anticipation. "_And hopefully… he kisses me back._" Shoko signed with an embarrassed look.

Miyoko smirked and informed Shoko of her opinion that there was no doubt in Miyoko's mind that Shoya would kiss her back, and the two giggled about it. Shoko planned on leaving for the train station very early, so that she could arrive according to schedule. "_What if he's awake?_" Miyoko signed. "_Maria or his mom may wake him up, you know!_"

Shoko pondered for a moment. "Theh ah'll oose mah words! (Then I'll use my words!)" she said aloud. "_And hopefully still kiss him…_" she thought as a blush and a shy smile grew over her face.

After a little while longer of chatting, Miyoko left so that Shoko could get ready for bed early. Shoko genuinely had nothing to worry about, but much like the man she loved, she worried over this "nothing." "_This will probably be the scariest thing I'll ever do…_" Shoko thought as she drew a warm bath for herself. She then thought back to the time when she first asked Shoya to be friends with her. Despite his cruelty, Shoko boldly walked up to him and took his hand in hers. "_If I could do something so bold then, I can do it again now…_" she thought, pumping herself up and squeezing her poor bath toy extremely tightly.

* * *

*** Is the Deadline Even Necessary? ***

* * *

Miyoko, who was all too eager to talk about this, whipped her phone out and texted Yuzuru. She explained that Shoko was planning on visiting Shoya _the very next morning_, so if Yuzuru could somehow make sure Shoya wasn't planning to leave just yet, it would be incredibly helpful. Ironically, Yuzuru only saw the notification from Miyoko after her heart-to-heart talk with Shoya.

_YUUUZUUU! Guess what? Shoko is leaving early tomorrow! She's gonna visit Shoya, make sure he doesn't man up and leave before she gets there!_

Almost an hour later, Yuzuru saw the message and replied.

_ahh sorry! i never saw the notification. but that's awesome news, i cant wait to see sis again! you say shes gonna visit shoya?_

_Hey! That's alright. Out of curiosity, do you know how late Shoya sleeps in?_

_hmmm i dont know, but if i had to guess probably really late._

They both texted back and forth, trying to be subtle about the conditions of the planned confession that they knew. Yuzuru wasn't explicitly told, but she made the educated guess that Shoya was going to confess either tonight or tomorrow night. So, upon hearing about Shoko's planned visit, she smirked. Miyoko, confident that she already knew how everything was going to unravel in the confession, smirked right back at her phone. In reality, neither of them were sure of what exactly would happen; Yuzuru didn't know if Shoya would leave tonight, and Miyoko was unaware that he was planning to leave so soon.

* * *

Similarly, Shoko and Shoya were clueless. They were both completely unaware that the other had been consulting Miyoko for help, and Shoko didn't know that Shoya had Yuzuru on his side as well. Since their ignorance could in no way affect them, they continued with their respective courses of action. As Shoya was getting on the train to Tokyo, Shoko was putting on pajamas and getting ready to text him. The train ride was going to be five hours long, so Shoya planned on sleeping the whole way through. However, as he felt his phone buzz, he couldn't help but smile and respond.

_Hey Shoya! We haven't talked all day, how have you been?_

_Hey! I'm doing great! Today's been really uneventful other than my conversation with Yuzuru!_

_Oh? Haha, I haven't spoken with her either! Gosh, I really should be more conscious of time! What all did you two talk about?_

_I wouldn't worry about it, I mean I'm just as guilty of losing track of time, LOL! And we just talked about how she wants to make friends. I feel really bad for her, she seemed really lonely. But by the end of the conversation she was smiling and laughing a lot!_

_Ahh! You're such a hero, Shoya! You making my baby sis smile makes me smile!_

Shoko followed this with a photo of herself smiling, and Shoya saved the photo without the slightest hesitation. He prepared to take a photo of himself to send it to Shoko, but he realized that this would basically ruin the whole surprise. She would definitely notice that he's on a train. Instead, he did what he felt was the next best thing; he complimented her.

_So beautiful! And wow, your teeth are like pearls!_

Shoya slapped himself across the face from embarrassment. "_What kind of compliment was that? I start out talking about her then I talk about her teeth?_" he sighed, wishing he could have just sent a photo to her, as it would have been the least awkward alternative.

* * *

Shoko blushed and felt her teeth with her tongue. "_Are my teeth that clean?_" she thought. Despite it being an offhand comment attached to a larger, broader compliment, it was still heartfelt and meaningful. Shoko smiled and hugged her phone to her chest. "_I have to smile when I'm with him…_" she thought, determined to show off the teeth that Shoya seemed to find so pretty.

_You're so sweet, Shoya! Nobody ever tells me such sincere, nice things!_

Shoya was actually astonished. "_How can someone see her and not have the urge to call her wonderful?_" he thought, somewhat frustrated at the world for not complimenting Shoko.

_That's a surprise, 'cause I'd have thought that you get compliments all the time! I mean, like, your smile, kindness, personality, hair, eyes, even your ears are all so cute!_

* * *

Without realizing it, Shoya had become short of breath and dizzy. He stared at his phone, realizing that he had actually just sent that message. "A-ahh…" he moaned as he covered his mouth and looked around. Thankfully the only other people on the train were either asleep or had earphones in. "_Am I out of my damn mind?_" Shoya thought in panic. "_I may as well have just texted her that I wanna marry her!_"

Seeing these messages made Shoko's eyes well up with tears. She, of course, was not unhappy due to them; she was overjoyed. She had been complimented by Shoya many times before, but it was scarcely anything more than a "You look nice!" As a result, being complimented in such a manner was enough to move her to tears. What was the best part of this, in Shoko's eyes, was how Shoya mentioned that she was attractive in more ways than just her looks. Shoko being told that her kindness and personality were cute ascertained that Shoya's feelings for her were not just an educated guess. She took a screenshot of the message to keep it forever.

* * *

After being moved to tears, Shoko was just about tuckered out, since crying can cause fatigue. As a result, she forgot to even respond to the heartfelt, heartwarming message that Shoya had dished out to her. On Shoya's end, panic set in. "_She left without saying anything, even a good night…_" he thought as he hung his head, draped over crossed arms. "_Should I just turn around now?_" he considered, but then a few thoughts popped into his head. He remembered how he complimented Shoko in a similar manner in person once before, to try and cheer her up. He smiled while the memory played out in his head. "_She seemed really… happy…_" He also remembered what Yuzuru told him during their conversation.

"'_I wish you had more confidence_.'" he recalled her saying. He raised his head up and looked out the window. With clenched fists and steeled nerves, Shoya thought to himself, "_I can't back down now, everything has been leading up to this night…_" He rested his head against the wall and shut his eyes. He didn't have much longer to wait, but he may as well get some sleep while he can.

* * *

*** …Deadline? ***

* * *

While Shoya lightly snoozed on the very long train ride, Shoko was visiting him. They were both in Shoya's room, where Shoko had shown up out of the blue to surprise him. She found, though, that she was much too timid to act so boldly, even though she psyched herself up for so long the previous night. All she could do was watch him sleep.

She genuinely enjoyed the view. Much like how Shoya viewed Shoko, Shoko saw Shoya not only as attractive. Shoko saw his sharp features as well as the person who owned them; so when Shoya snored, Shoko not only saw a handsome man, but she saw the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Suddenly, his eyes sprung open. "Choko! Uh are bagg so early!" he said with a surprised and happy expression.

"Yeah! Ah game here do see uh!" she said with a bright smile. "Aw uh happy do see me?"

Shoya smiled and laughed. "Of couwse!" he said warmly.

The two spent a lot of time catching up, chatting, even going to eat breakfast. They never once broke eye contact during this entire conversation, other than to blink. They walked around, and Shoya showed Shoko some of the new restaurants and shops that he visited while Shoko was in Tokyo. He treated Shoko to food that was… indescribable, and brought her to shops that were… vague. Shoko still enjoyed every last second of it, all because it was with her soulmate. They ended up at the bridge, where so many memories, good and bad, were held. Those memories came pouring in all at once, like a wave of nostalgia.

* * *

This was the bridge where Shoko jumped after the notebook that Shoya brought her and landed in the river. This was the bridge where Shoya got suspended from his school for jumping in after her.

It was the bridge where Tomohiro had everyone meet to direct his first movie. It was the bridge where everyone but the Nishimiyas and Shoya left after Shoya hurt everyone's feelings after trying to make sure that his past, as a bully, didn't haunt him and ruin his new friendships.

This was the bridge where Shoko gave Shoya a gift, which she never realized he had no clue what to do with them. "_He could have just told me he didn't know…_" she thought with a giggle. "_He could have told me…_" she thought for a second. She looked up at Shoya; this was the bridge where Shoko tried to confess to Shoya. Before she knew it, Shoya was on his bicycle, leaving. Shoko dropped down to the floor, just as her tears did soon after.

* * *

Shoko woke up from her nervousness-induced nightmare due to the vibration of a text from Shoya.

_Isn't the moon beautiful tonight?_

Shoko wiped her eyes off and looked out her window. The moon was nowhere to be seen.

_I wish I could see it, it must be directly above my dorm! Just my luck, LOL!_

_You should go outside to see it!_

* * *

Shoko hesitated at first, since it was chilly, but she put on some slippers and stepped outside her dorm to go outside and get a better view of the moon. As soon as she opened the door, she jumped backwards, startled. In front of her was just the person she was dreaming about less than three minutes ago.

With his left hand raised perpendicular to the ground and a warm, caring, _loving_ expression on his face, Shoya Ishida simply said, "Yo!"

* * *

*** The Objective Has Been Met; Deadline Obsolete ***


	6. Past Thoughts and Present Actions

This story takes place after the manga. I do not own _A Silent Voice_ or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

* * *

Shoya Ishida had spent months' worth of his life thinking about the past. Back when he was in elementary school, he would think back to the days before he had to learn anything. When he fell out with his friends, he would think back to the days before things were tense at school. When he felt lonely, he would think back to how he used to have friends, but they turned their backs on him. When he wanted to commit suicide, he would think back to how he tormented a certain girl, to the point of them brutally attacking each other. He thought back to how he had loose ends to tie up.

When he finally tied up those loose ends, he thought back to the same girl. When they hung out, got close, became good friends, and even went around on what one may call a "date," he thought back to the same girl. When she, herself, was on the brink of suicide, and he was holding her with all of his might to prevent it, he thought back to the same girl. When he, instead fell, and was comatose for weeks, he dreamt of the same girl. Everything ultimately brought his thoughts back to the same Shoko, the one from so long ago. Things had been so much simpler in the past.

* * *

However, Shoya Ishida was living in the present. And in the present, Shoko Nishimiya, the girl that he had thought of for so long, was standing right in front of him.

At the door and on his phone, texting Shoko, Shoya briefly glanced at his mental checklist. He knew that he had a certain criteria to meet; he had to hold Shoko's hand, kiss her, and most importantly, _confess to her_. He could not decide which of the two latter that he was most scared of, so he would hold her hand before either of them. Before anything else, however, came something he had not planned out-_ words_. So, when he texted her, trying to get her to open the door, he could only muster a "Yo!"

Shoko, on the other hand was speechless. Seeing Shoya after so long, face to face and out of the blue, reminded her of what transpired at the bridge. Reminiscent of this, Shoko shakily pointed her index finger towards Shoya, not trying to determine whether or not he was a ghost (since it was entirely possible that Shoya could have died at the time that they had met at the bridge), but trying to determine whether or not she was merely dreaming. Shoya stared at it blankly, not sure why she was doing it, so he matched her actions, lightly poking her index finger with his own.

"Uh!" Shoko exclaimed, surprised. She had actually thought that she had been dreaming, since Shoya's request was so odd. "Shoya!" she said, happily. Shoya noticed how she said his name so well, despite not knowing what it actually sounded like. "Cuh in, cuh in! (Come in, come in!)"

Shoya politely, being led inside by his sleeve, which Shoko was excitedly holding. She had him sit down, but Shoya had no intention of staying seated. "Shoko." he said while getting her attention with a shoulder-tap. "You sit, I'll make some tea." he said while signing. He had a vague idea of where things would be, since he had spent so much time at her apartment back in town. Shoko stared at him. For a second, everything seemed unreal. Shoko hesitated before sitting down. Shoya looked at her, into her eyes. Again, they both seemed incredibly close to confessing right there. Shoya broke the silence, though. "U-uh, I woke you up at this late hour, so I definitely owe you a cup of tea, right?" he asked while signing, rubbing his neck nervously.

* * *

Shoko sat down, watching as Shoya worked. He managed to get the tea going relatively briefly, so he brought the cups over, placing them on coasters. He took his seat on the floor, sitting on his knees as politely as possible. Despite already having done all this, he still had yet to explain anything to Shoko. "Ah! By the way! How are you?" Shoya asked. Shoko just stared at him in return. Shoya had signed at her, so she definitely could understand him- that is, if she even was looking at his hands. Again, Shoko found that her eyes were locked with his.

"Shoya… whadd a goincidenz…. (Shoya... what a coincidence…)" Shoko began, after sipping some tea. She was taking extra care to not sign, despite the fact that it would make it significantly harder for Shoya to understand her. Shoya was not the same Shoya as the one in the past, though. He was not so misunderstanding, there would be no other "moon," moment, Shoko was sure of it. "Ah was agdally about do see uh! (I was actually about to see you!)"

Shoya sipped his tea. "_I wonder if it was for the same reason…_" he thought. He smiled. "Then it was really lucky that I got here when I did!" he said while signing. Right now, the two were simply sitting across each other, enjoying their company. This was the perfect situation; going to get food would mean they would be in public, going out, even for a walk, would mean they would be in the dark (and Shoko would have trouble understanding him).

* * *

Shoko looked at him intently. Her expression, which had before been one of happiness, changed to deep concern. "Shoya!" she exclaimed. She signed, first pointing at her own eye and then pointing at his. Shoya stared at her, confused. It then clicked for him. "_I'm crying?_" he thought to himself as he wiped his eyes dry. "Ahh, sorry! I'm alright!" he said reassuringly while signing. Shoya was crying from joy. He had yet to make any sort of move, but just being in Shoko's presence after so long of not seeing her was enough to move him to tears. It was much like the overwhelming sense of relief one may receive after, having been traveling for hours or even days, their destination at last comes into view.

Shoko did not take Shoya's tears lightly. She, too, had been so happy to see him after so long of only seeing him through photos, but it pained her deeply to see him cry. Shoya tried his hardest to reassure her, but Shoko was no longer so easy to pacify. Of course, a year ago, Shoya's reassurance would have been enough to calm Shoko down, and she would simply smile and move on. However, soon after her attempted suicide, she began to stay true to her feelings and respond to them, for her own sake as well as the sake of those around her. She would no longer simply hide behind a smile for everything. Right here and now, seeing the love of her life crying in front of her, she could not accept a plain, "I'm alright."

* * *

"Shoya!" Shoko said loudly, interrupting him from any attempt at an explanation. Shoya, who had already been staring at Shoko's face, now focused on her eyes. "Zomedin's wrogg… please dell me… (Something's wrong… please tell me…)"

Shoya hadn't expected this from Shoko. Because he wasn't actually sad, and his tears had been those of relief, he smiled at her concern. "Shoko… you're getting so much better at talking…" he said with a bright smile, his eyes now dry.

Shoko stared in shock. Shoko didn't know what type of response Shoya would give, but she certainly didn't expect him to say something like that. "_A compliment…_" she thought with a flushed face. She thought back to a few nights ago, when the two went back and forth, complimenting each other, both seemingly on the verge of confessing. "_I don't care how many compliments I say or am given… I __**have to**__ confess tonight…_" she thought as she stared into her tea, steeling her resolve. She stared back up at Shoya, who was gazing into her eyes. Her resolve wavered as her heart melted. "_He's so cute…_"

* * *

Shoya's face lit up as he was reminded of what he even showed up to do. He certainly loved drinking tea with his soulmate, but that was not his intended or original goal. He went to see her to confess. He thought back to so long ago, around the time they first met. Shoko had reached out and grabbed his hand, as a way to tell him that she wanted to be friends. She did the same thing again, around a year or so ago, after Shoya returned her notebook and asked to be friends with her. Shoya looked at his hand. "_This isn't just for a regular friendship… this is for more…_" he thought as he gulped hard and reached his hand out to Shoko.

He briefly thought back to the high school festival, which was only half a year ago. He had just recovered from his coma, and everyone at the school was talking about him. This was much to his dismay, as Shoya hated being the source of any sort of attention at the time, and he couldn't look people in the eyes. After explaining this to Shoko, she offered to drag him around so that he didn't have to hold his head up and see everyone. He held out his hand for Shoko to grab. "_She only grabbed my sleeve back then…_"

* * *

There was a crash, and the two's gazes shifted from each other to the source of the crash (which Shoko felt, not heard). As Shoya had been so entrenched in thought, he accidentally knocked over Shoko's tea instead of grabbing her hand. "C-crap!" he said as he jumped up to get something to clean it with. Shoko stared, feeling more confused and amused than anything. "_He's acting so strange today…_"

Shoya cleaned up the tea and swept up the broken ceramics. "I'm very sorry." Shoya said while signing. He averted eye contact with Shoko now, feeling like he just missed his one and only shot with her. Luckily for him, Shoko was, for the moment, oblivious.

"Wha was that? (What was that?)" she asked. She giggled a little, but after seeing Shoya's nervous face, her expression grew worried. "Yoah aggding funny, Shoya (You're acting funny, Shoya)"

Shoya was still sweeping and staring at the ground, which was already clean. He looked up at Shoko and set the broom aside. "Shoko… silly me! _I came here to do something, and I'm too clumsy to do it properly…_" he began to say out loud, before becoming choked up and moving to sign language. "_I only hope that it works out… I guess that's selfish of me…_"

* * *

Ever since elementary school ended, Shoya felt like he had been incredibly selfish. As an even younger boy, he was taught by his sister that life was a "constant war against boredom." So, he realized that he had only been acting out in class and getting in trouble, jumping off of bridges and getting soaked, and _bullying Shoko and making her life miserable_ as ways to simply avoid boredom. He realized that he wanted to get rid of his guilt and tie off loose ends. He would, among other things, pay his mother back and return Shoko's notebook before finding a tall bridge to jump off. He would end up more than soaked though.

Now, things were different. He didn't exactly end up paying his mother back, he didn't end up killing himself, and he didn't end up simply returning the notebook. He stayed alive, being there for everyone around him and growing as a person. However, the simple fact that he was benefiting from any of this made him feel as though he was being incredibly selfish. Even now, as he was preparing to confess, he couldn't help but feel like he was only acting for himself.

* * *

Shoko shook her head. "Yoah the leezt shelfish pershon ah know! (You're the least selfish person I know!)" Shoko stood up abruptly, almost jumping out of her seat. She began to list off everything that Shoya had done, ranging all the way from helping Shoko and her family bake a cake to _saving her life_. "You gan't say yoah beeig shelfish!" She breathed hard and clenched the bottom of her shirt in her fists. "_Why does he still feel so guilty?_" she thought as she stared back up to an awestruck Shoya.

Finally, it happened. With no warning that either of the two particularly noticed, Shoya's hand darted forward, enveloping Shoko's hand within. He gulped hard held it for a few moments. His eyes were shut, since he was terrified to see how she reacted to this. Depending on how she reacted, he would either stay there to confess in person or leave to confess over text. Either way, he planned on confessing _that night_.

* * *

Shoya, who had his eyes shut, slowly opened them to gauge Shoko's reaction. Shoko was in shock. Her face was red, her mouth was agape, and her expression was blank. Shoya took this blank expression as a result of disgust. He slowly loosened his grip and let her hand fall back down to her side. He signed an "_I'm sorry._" and turned around, prepared to go back home in shame. Shoko snapped back to her senses and stopped him. She ran to him, grabbing the hand that was on her doorknob with her own, preventing him from turning it. Instead, he turned towards her. "Sho...ko?" he said as his face began to burn. She had yet to let go of his hand or break eye contact with him. Each of their free hands went into fists as they balled them up, steeling their own nerves.

Shoya and Shoko stared into each others' eyes, unmoving and silent, yet brimming with passion. It seemed as though they were telepathically communicating their words of love toward each other, or perhaps even transmitting it through touch. Shoya put his other hand to use, placing it on Shoko's shoulder. "Shoko… I…" He began to speak, but he stopped himself, wanting to sign instead for clarity.

Shoko shook her head. Whether she said it clearly, or they could understand each other perfectly now, Shoya didn't know. The fact is that Shoko spoke up, stopping Shoya from letting go of her hand, and saying, "Don't sign… let me hear your voice…" Her expression radiated love as she leaned in close to place her good (not one hundred percent deaf) ear closer to Shoya's mouth.

Shoya gulped hard and continued what he was going to say. "Shoko… ever since the time at the balcony, I've been kicking myself for not trying to be more open with you… I've wanted to know how you feel, like, about me… 'cause, you see, I feel…" Shoya trailed off for a moment. Shoko looked up at him. "...I feel like actions speak louder than words." Shoya placed the hand that had been on her shoulder onto her other hand, gripping it firmly, but not anywhere near firmly enough to cause her pain. He was delighted to feel that she gripped back, with both of her hands.

* * *

Brief flashes of all the little moments they had together came over Shoya's vision. Shoya was returning Shoko's notebook, and Shoko was helping him stand up after he tripped and hit his face. Shoya was actively searching for Miyoko so that Shoko would regain missed childhood opportunities, and Shoko was comforting Shoya after he had a brief falling out with the friend group he had built up. Shoya was complimenting Shoko's hair, and Shoko was giving him a gift that she hoped he would enjoy. _Shoya was saving Shoko's life, and Shoko was solidifying herself as __**his**__ life_.

After the visions exited from his field of vision, Shoya acted. "_Actions speak louder than words!_" he thought, pumping himself up for this moment. He leaned down and kissed Shoko on the lips, very briefly. In those two seconds that their lips met, either one of them would do anything to live in that moment for eternity. Shoya opened his eyes and stood up slowly, again, gauging a response from Shoko. Shoko's eyes were still closed, but they darted open. With them came tears. Initially, Shoya was terrified that he had, indeed, made a grave error, but he found this fear to be unfounded soon after. Shoko's hands freed themselves of his own and were placed on both sides of his face, pulling him back down. Their lips met once more. Shoya's hands moved to wrap around her frame, pulling her close in a loving embrace. Without knowing it, the two were thinking the exact same thing. "_I've waited so long for this… finally…_"

Their lips broke apart again. Shoya again felt tears stream down his face, but Shoko didn't worry so much about it like she did several minutes ago. Instead, she simply caressed his face with her hands, using her thumbs to dry the tears from his damp eyes. "I…" Shoko began. She gulped, not wanting to say the wrong thing this time. "I lub you…"

* * *

Shoya felt his heart skip a beat. "_I lub moo…_" he remembered her saying. "_Oh, man… I'm such an idiot…_" Shoya was thinking back to when Shoko and him determined that they were not merely "fake friends." Naoka had just before then accused Shoya of being "fake friends" with Shoko, as in out of pity. However, the two resolved to get to know each other better because of it. After a brief interaction in which Shoko gave him a gift, Shoko attempted to confess her feelings toward Shoya. Shoya, however, misheard what Shoko meant as "you" to be "moon."

* * *

For a second, he was overwhelmingly embarrassed for having misunderstood something so badly back then. He ended up fine, though. He knew that what mattered is that they could understand each other here and now. So, here and now, Shoya would finally be able to reply appropriately to Shoko's confession. He took her hands in his once more. "Shoko, I love you too" as the words escaped from Shoya's lips, he felt a wave of emotion come over him. "I love you! I LOVE YOU!" he exclaimed, louder each time. He collapsed to his knees, as if he was fatigued from exercise. "I love you…" he said with a huge grin on his face. He had never imagined that he would _actually_ say this in person.

Shoko came down to her knees, and the two embraced each other for some time. Neither of them had ever felt happier. Shoya was too nervous to do anything other than that, but Shoko was feeling all over Shoya's back with one hand and running her hands through his hair with the other. After a few minutes, the two moved to be on seats, instead of still being in front of the door. They talked for hours about little things, like how their days went, little compliments, and cute anecdotes they remember from spending time with each other. After a few more minutes, it became clear that they were about to pass out from exhaustion (since it was late/early, neither had slept much, and crying makes people tired).

Shoya offered to sleep on the floor, but Shoko shook her head and lifted up her blanket for Shoya to crawl under. Hesitantly, Shoya did so. He didn't regret it one bit. He wrapped an arm around the person he loved the most, pulled her close, and held her tight. The idea of being so close to Shoko was enough to make him cry from joy, but the warmth being so close to Shoko caused his drowsiness to overpower him, and sleep followed soon after. The last thing he remembered before closing his eyes was resting his chin on top of her head and noticing how soft her hair was. "_I'm the luckiest guy ever..._" Shoya thought as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the two slept in until late in the afternoon. They would get up to use the bathroom and brush their teeth, only to return to the bed to cuddle with their soulmate. Neither of them could fathom a better way to wake up than waking up right next to the person that they hold closest in their hearts and in their arms.

So, when they finally got up, they spent some time getting used to the idea of being a couple. They were already a little flirty when they were just friends, so conversations wouldn't be a whole lot different. Now, though, they would hold hands, go on dates, and even sometimes _kiss_. Thankfully for them, these were all things that they had wanted to do for so long anyways.

The two got ready to leave for the train station, where they would board a train to take them back to town. However, they would no longer just be the two teenagers who everyone wanted to see end up together. Shoya held the door open for Shoko. No, they would be the teenagers who everyone sees end up together.

The door shut behind them, and Shoko locked it. Their hands met as they walked down the hallway and to the elevator. They left the dorm building completely different from how they each entered it. They each entered the building sad, anxious, and longing. They left the building happy, excited, and fulfilled. But more importantly than any of that, they left _together_.

* * *

***** The End! *****


End file.
